The Notts Review • 18 October 2026

Lime Garden return to Nottingham with the world in their hands

Lime Garden’s first ever headline show was in Nottingham. I’d know, because I was there. That was November 2022, almost four years ago. When they played ‘Clockwork’ to a sold-out Rescue Rooms last night, they remarked that those who discovered the song around its release knew them before they were cool. I guess I can count myself among that club. Back then, the track had one million Spotify streams. Now, it has six million.Opening the night was Sarah Crean, an Irish musician now based in Brighto...

DMY • 17 October 2026

yves02: "Taking The Pressure Off Gives You More Freedom"

yves02 explores the process of breaking away from expectation, finding your own artistic identity, and prioritising what you want to say over what you think people want to hear on his latest album, '12 stars'.

The London-based artist, who began making music while studying in Nottingham, first gained traction through his hidingthehurt project, which brought opportunities to perform outside the city and established a growing audience around his sound. As expectations around the project grew, he...

DIY • 12 October 2026

Chanpan: “We’re so serious about music, but completely unserious people”

Chanpan have spent enough time playing to strangers that they know not to fear a difficult room. “Busking is character development,” laughs instrumentalist Matthew Tran, speaking from experience. Before festival slots, sold out headline shows and a recent European debut, the New York trio began performing on the streets of Chinatown to fund their early recordings. “That’s just like busking on the street. You have to deliver something so killer and be so captivating that you win them over.”It’s a...

The Notts Review • 10 October 2026

Antony Szmierek turns The Level into a safe space for dancing and emotion

The Level can be a tricky venue to navigate when sold out, with its low balcony making it difficult to get a good view of the stage. However, when there’s more room on the dancefloor, it proves it has the potential to host gigs where people can dance and move freely.And with Antony Szmierek’s music, it’s almost impossible not to. Touring the UK to celebrate his sophomore album, Decoding Birdsong, the former teacher’s unique blend of dance beats and spoken word makes for a live show that feels mo...

The Notts Review • 6 October 2026

Man/Woman/Chainsaw hit Rescue Rooms like a ‘Cannonball’

Opening the show were Bathing Suits, a dance-punk, electro-noise outfit from Leeds, eager to win over the crowd ahead of their own headline show at The Bodega in February. Made up of Freyja Blevins on vocals and drum machine, George Dickinson and Alex Mulholland on guitar and Elise Hughes on bass, Blevins proved to be the band’s captivating presence on stage, beginning the set in a white T-shirt and jeans and ending it with only the jeans left.While Blevins’ attempts to get the crowd moving were...

The Notts Review • 12 September 2026

Former Dancing on Ice star Mark Hanretty on Nottingham’s National Ice Centre: “There’s no better place to skate than here”

Sitting in the café at Nottingham’s National Ice Centre, Mark Hanretty is in familiar surroundings. The former competitive skater trained at the venue before going on to compete professionally, appear on ITV’s Dancing on Ice and, today, work primarily as an International Skating Union (ISU) commentator and host at some of the biggest events in international skating.“It’s the commentary season, but there was no event this week, so I’m filling the gap with some coaching,” he explains, reflecting o...

DIY • 2 June 2026

KuleeAngee: “Being in a rave is one of the top five feelings in life”

Life for KuleeAngee all began when, after the pandemic, members Keshav - or Kesh - Kanabar and Duncan Grant found themselves queuing outside the infamous London LGBTQ+ club, Dalston Superstore. “We were with other people but they packed it in, so we went ‘out out’,” Duncan reflects. “I said to Kesh: ‘I want to start a band’. He said ‘who with?, and I said ‘with you!’, then we danced the night away.”Hailing from Glasgow and Edinburgh, the pair already knew each other through session work, somethi...

The Line of Best Fit • 24 April 2026

Basht. channel generational unease on brooding new single “Perfume”

Through relentless touring and a growing reputation on the live circuit, Basht. have built a devoted fanbase in the lead-up to announcing Poor Advice. Knockout live shows on tour with the likes of DEADLETTER, Everything Everything and Wunderhorse, as well as appearances at festivals including The Great Escape and Truck.
Until last year, the band underwent several line-up changes before settling on Jack Leavey (vocals/guitar), Lughaidh Armstrong-Mayock (lead guitar), Ryan McClelland (drums) and L...